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The People's Climate March could be a turning point for climate change activism but critics question its effectiveness as a social movement

The founder of 350.org, Bill McKibben is one of the organizers against what's being billed as the largest-ever march against climate change, set to take place this weekend. Activists say their social movement is thriving...but others say it's petering out. Today, we debate climate change as a social movement ....
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The Current25:00Organizers want The People's Climate March to be a turning point for climate change activism - Sept 19, 2014
The founder of 350.org, Bill McKibben is one of the organizers against what's being billed as the largest-ever march against climate change, set to take place this weekend. Activists say their social movement is thriving...but others say it's petering out. Today, we debate climate change as a social movement .

Next week, world leaders will gather for the United Nations Climate Summit in New York City. Environmental protesters plan to raise the temperature.

Six or eight months ago Ban Ki Moon, the head of the UN, summoned world leaders to New York to talk about climate. Left to their own devices these guys will do exactly what they've done for the last 25 years - talk a good game and accomplish nothing. So we figured we'd better come with them, we'd invite ourselves as well. This will be not only the biggest climate demonstration ever, but it'll be the largest political gathering in this country in a long time.Bill McKibben is the founder of 350.org and one of the primary organizers of the "People's Climate March" scheduled for this Sunday.

The People's Climate March is being billed as "the biggest march against climate change in the planet's history."

Organizers and participants in this weekend's march believe it will be a turning point in the climate change movement. Others are not convinced its effectiveness will rival the changes brought on by social movements of the past.



Today we convened three guests who've thought about the ambitions and limitations of climate change activism.

Tzeporah Berman is long-time environmentalist from British Columbia and author of This Crazy Time.

Anna-Liisa Aunio is an activist and academic who teaches at Dawson College and the Loyola College for Diversity and Sustainability at Concordia University. Her doctoral research focused on social movements' and civil society organizations' work in international climate change politics.

Kenneth Green is the Senior Director for the Centre for Natural Resources at the Fraser Institute.


Do you think this weekend's march could be the tipping point in the climate change movement?

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This segment was produced by The Current's Kristin Nelson and Lara O'Brien.

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